Community Question: Is The Reported Cancellation Of The Cadillac CT8 A Smart Decision?

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Everyone here at GM Authority was a bit fired up yesterday after hearing Cadillac has reportedly scrapped its CT8 sedan. The CT8 was destined to be the brand’s true flagship sedan with an even longer wheelbase, more spacious innards and plentiful luxury.

Our first reaction was along the lines of “how could Cadillac do this?” But, maybe it’s a smart move after all. We’ve had no true explanation of the move yet, but we can bet it’s because crossovers and SUVs are becoming more of the norm in the marketplace. Cadillac could clearly see this, General Motors knows it and the industry at large is starting to believe it.

Dumping investment dollars at a project that would likely not reach many consumers in the long run could be some savvy business strategy.

However, flagships aren’t a one-trick pony. The CT8 could have been Cadillac’s brand ambassador, the vehicle to aspire towards. Flagships have a tendency to do just that, and Mercedes-Benz has perfected the strategy. Everyone who stares at an S-Class’ window sticker immediately sweats profusely and steps into a CLA instead. Why? Because they want the badge associated with the S-Class, minus the sticker shock.

The CT8 probably wouldn’t have been enough to really steal sales from Mercedes-Benz, but it seems to be a miscalculated branding move. A crossover will never have the swagger a big luxury sedan does.

We’re ready to turn it to you now. Talk to us down below, and vote in the poll on if Cadillac has made smart choices, or unintelligent mistakes.

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40 Comments

Second what is GM going to provide in place of this car? To make a real judgment and informed opinion we need more info.

If they just replace it with a much more expensive Escalade then it may not be a good idea. Now if they replace it with a sporty Cayenne like SUV with much less weight then it could be a very interesting and profitable choice.

I am sure we will get many over reactions here and they may be right in the end but lets just see what their plans are before we go off the deep end here.

A Cayenne competitor that is 4500-4800 pounds with a TT DOHC V8 and maybe electric hybrid system may be interesting seeing as the Cayenne is 6,000 pounds and Benz and BMW really have no answer for this kind of vehicle yet.

You know something, I agree with scott3 here. I think it’s best to hear the final say-so from GM, and if the news proves to be true regarding the axing of the CT8, then perhaps it “could” mean that Cadillac has an ace up its sleeve in the form of a lightweight, dynamic, sporty, RWD CUV. And hopefully this’ll lead to a full lineup of RWD-based CUVs, which I believe could be quite interesting! We simply can’t deny the profitability of the CUV and SUV market!

However, the lack of a genuine flagship sedan would still leave Cadillac lacking in comparison to the competition! As others have pointed out, the Germans are investing quite a bit into the segment because they see the potential for strong profitability! They have a strong and loyal customer base that’s willing and ready to drop top dollars on their products! And with Cadillac potentially foregoing a competitive flagship sedan, a vehicle that’ll create loads of cache and appeal for the brand, who’s to say they can confidently and legitimately provide a Cayenne competitor?! This company recently came out and touted the flexibility of the C1XX, FWD platform! Which suggests Cadillac is not currently planning to compete with the Cayenne!

I could understand if this was in the value brand full size segment like avalon, azera, taurus, impala etc. Correct me if im wrong but i dont think the flagship luxury sedan segment has shrinked all that much if any. Profits are huge in this segment and it shows all the engineering prowess and technology of said luxury automaker.

Maybe the CT6 is all they really need if it gets a LWB version and a lavish interior when its time for the MCE around 2019. Its already the best looking out of all the flagships IMO. I could understand if they went that route.

Time will tell. Hopefully is this rumor holds water it means that the Escalade would move upmarket and have standalone platform rather than a supped up Tahoe. Also a true RWD midsize SUV would be in the cards i hope.

We all need to keep in mind this is a profit-making venture. The $12 Billion investment in Cadillac is not a gift from GM, but an investment with an expected return. Yes, the profit margins on Cadillac cars are attractive, but the total profit picture on Cadillac SUVs & CUVs may be more attractive. The money needs to be spent where the total return is the highest.

This may not be what we want to hear, but that is how profit-making businesses are supposed to operate.

That is exactly why I am not ready to close the book on the CT8 just yet. Why spend so much money to only do one vehicle.
You could argue that the Omega costs just as much the Alpha to design, engineer and validate and GM had to put the ATS, CTS and Camaro on the chassis to make a good business case for it’s production.

Automobile just asked a Cadillac rep about this and thier response was “for now the CT6 is at the top, but not the end of our dreams. We have 11 vehicles coming by 2020 but we cannot talk about them yet”. This is the same verbage we have been hearing for over a year now. Also the road and track story had good sources that claimed the CT9 was being developed. Now I can’t see Cadillac going from the 50k to 80k CT6 to a 300K CT9. I said it before and will say it again, there is something just not right with this story. For one thing, it could be argued that the possible CT8 even though not confirmed, was stealing some of the CT6.s thunder and GM wanted that to stop to make sure it would not slow CT6s sales. Lets face it, as soon as Cadillac stated there would be a car above the CT6, we all said, great lets wait and see what that is like.

Maybe they cancelled the CT8 so they can build a $200k flagship by 2025 and have a $300k vehicle by 2030….the $200k vehicle in 2025 instead of a low volume CT8 in 2020….Maybe they can find a way to build a large CUV that has the same swagger as a large luxury sadan….a compact CUV has more interior and cargo volume than a mid-sized sedan….Crossovers are better.

Not that big a deal… The shift towards CUV/SUV appears permanent. Besides, the CT6 is the same as a short wheelbase A8/S Class/7 Series…just make the next one more luxurious and longer if that’s where the market wants to go.

I am ok with postponing it until they get all their ducks in a row. To cancel it altogether I think would be a huge mistake. With all the rumors out there you don’t know what to believe. I find it hard to believe that they would cancel the CT8 which would sell in the $100,000 thru $ 200,000 range and build a $ 300,000 vehicle.

IMO, I think we are getting excited over nothing since this story is not concrete yet. JDN said that they were not quite sure what role the CT8 would be if it be a traditional large premium sedan or a four door convertible.

And by the sound from Automobile Magazine, I am not convinced that CT8 is cancelled.

Remember when JDN said that there will be no long wheelbase versions of any car in Autonew.com? I am renouncing from yesterday of what I read today that the CT8 project is on but Cadillac did not specifically state how it will represent Cadillac as a direct target towards the S Class or something totally different from the S Class.

1. Grandiose sedans and coupes are historically Cadillac’s calling card. When people bemoan Cadillac’s “trying to be German”, I don’t think the pursuit of performance is their real issue. I think what it boils down to is size, opulence, and attention to detail. Today’s Caddys are some of the smaller entries in their segments, especially the ATS. I think enthusiasts, bloggers, and journalists are doing a very poor job articulating that small, light, and simple are best left to BMW. Cadillac has BMW-fighters in the compact segment. Cadillac could be making a big, opulent Benz-beater that Cadillac USED TO MAKE.

I had this nightmare that Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer were axed…..then it continued to be bad, there was this cool looking Buick concept car called an Avista and GM said not gonna see daylight….It continued where there were plans to build a big flagship sedan from Cadillac on a new Omega platform- it was to be called the CT8 and it too got cancelled…..this was all a bad dream, right?

In the long-term however, I think it will jeopardize Cadillac’s ability to cultivate the image it is attempting to create for itself.

I say this as an owner of a 2016 7-Series. I mention that, not to brag, but to provide some perspective. I was very keen on the CT6, but it is simply not good enough to warrant my attention, when I could get a 7-Series or S-Class instead; however, I was always very positive about the future potential CT8 as the next purchase. Now, there is nothing.

If this story is true, Cadillac will not be competing in the high-end tier where it claims to want to participate. If you say you want to compete with the best in the world, small 3-Series fighters, while important, can only take you so far. One day, you have to get in the ring with the heavyweights, and chickening out or deciding it’s not in your best interest is a defeat by default.

Look at Infiniti and Acura. Neither of them have anything that makes anyone take notice of them. Yes, the ILX and Q50 are decent cars in their segment, and they pay the bills, but they don’t move them in to a higher class of consideration (maybe the NSX will help address this). Audi was in a similar boat for a long time, and while the A8 and R8 may still not be sales leaders, they have moved the Audi brand as a whole, up a peg.

So yes, it might be an okay decision for the business, it is a questionable decision for the brand.

After all, if this is story is true, maybe Cadillac should change their ad slogan:

Cadillac has to go where the market is and at the moment it’s CUV; although a 2-door coupe variant of the CT6 Hybrid with electric motors capable of matching Tesla’s Model S and Ludicrous mode acceleration would be sweet.